Our complimentary workshops are focused on empowering and educating families who have dependents with special needs giving them clear, actionable information that can be used to understand and build a responsible ﬁnancial lifestyle. Our small and interactive seminars will be led by popular ﬁnancial speaker, Pat Bergmaier, and will provide a comfortable setting in which attendees can learn how to take control of their present and future ﬁnancial planning. As a follow-up, individual meetings may be scheduled to focus on your personal ﬁnancial situation without distraction.

I often get asked the question, “How is special needs planning different than traditional financial planning?” The main planning goal of the parents typically does a 180 compared to most parents – these parents are concerned about living one day longer than their child. Making sure quality of life and lifetime care is there for their child (most times, their adult child) with special needs is of the utmost importance here. They are planning a “3-person retirement” – lifetime income for Mom & Dad but also a lifetime of income to support their child. With this paradigm shift of clients’ goals, we need to [...]

Long-Term Care. Whether in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or in-home care, there is a very likely chance of a person needing some type of skilled or custodial care in their lifetime. According to studies done by AARP, about 70% of people who reach age 65 are expected to need some form of care at least once in their lifetime. Other than the obvious reason of the high likelihood of needed LTC, let’s look at 5 reasons my clients have decided to buy LTC Insurance. Choices – People like to have the choice of where they receive their care. Some [...]

Part A: Hospital Insurance Part A is one of two parts that make up original Medicare. It helps cover inpatient care in hospitals, care in skilled nursing facilities, hospice care, and some home health care. Part B: Medical Insurance Part B is the second half of Original Medicare. It helps cover certain services from doctors and other health-care providers, outpatient care, home health care, durable medical equipment, and some preventive services. Part C: Medicare Advantage (MAPD) Part C covers all Part A and Part B benefits and services; may offer additional coverage, like vision, hearing, and dental; and may also [...]

An accurate estimate of where the value of Bitcoin will be a year would be difficult, but one thing is fairly certain; Bitcoin is not going anywhere. Before discussing Bitcoin as a currency, it is critical to first define what currency is: Currency (noun): 1. Money in any form when in actual use as a medium of exchange. 2. Transmission from person to person as a medium of exchange. Money (noun): Any clearly identifiable object of value that is generally accepted as a payment for goods, services or repayment of debts. Throughout history, there have been many forms of currency. Gold and [...]

When it comes to most client meetings with my retiree crowd there are similar discussion points that arise time and time again. These include a quick review of income needs with any changes that may have occurred, concerns about the stock market volatility with the new administration in our nation’s capital, or another Q&A session about our long-term care strategy. However, once those adorable innocent grand babies enter the picture, we add a new discussion point to the agenda GIFTING! It’s so very important to us from an emotional standpoint to help the next generations have a leg up on [...]

When I first start talking with younger clients, the two questions I get most are, “How much money should we be saving, and where should we put it?” These are great questions not only for people just starting their financial journey but for seasoned savers too. The answers will differ for each person and depend more on personality than how much they can save. For example, I have clients who are interested in saving money and like the idea of riskier strategies that could produce greater returns. I also have clients who want to save with very little or no [...]

The election of President Trump, indications of increased interest rates, rising political populism in Europe, and a general air of uncertainty has created challenges – along with opportunities – for advisors and their clients. As we survey the marketplace and try to anticipate the potential impacts of tax reform, market volatility, economic expansion and geopolitical shifts, these are themes, trends and insurance solutions we anticipate in 2017. Death and Taxes While they are the only certainties in life, exactly what those taxes will be … in life or at death … are a bit up in the air. For the life insurance [...]